Hazmat alert

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are being pushed and mandated due to claims of energy savings and reduction in greenhouse emissions associated with domestic energy production. However, a well known side effect is that the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury which have health effects if the bulbs are broken. So the EPA has released guidelines for disposal which include
a. Get all people and pets out of the room
b. Air out the room
c. Shut off the AC
d. Collect the debris using duct tape and put it in a sealed mason jar.
e. If in the carpet, cut out the carpet and place all in a sealable container.

Also note that you are not to put the debris or even a bulb that burns out into the trash. It is not to be incinerated. Put it outside in a protected area and take it to your local cleanup site that accepts such materials. Yeah, sure. Want to bet? Most Americans are going to throw it in the trash meaning future land fill hazards. Talk about hazmat!

So the greenie weenies are willing to trade off health for greenhouse gases. All this simply adds to the insanity of the green movement. Isn't this the same bunch that wants to ban all sorts of stuff from consumer products. Didn't they whine about lead in paint or lead in Chinese toys? Didn't they try to ban small motorcycles and bikes because of lead? Aren't mercury thermometers being banned around the globe. Yet this bunch says its ok to use hazmats in light bulbs? Al Gore must own stock in the stuff. I will never buy a CFL bulb. My electric co-op in Georgia was giving the bulbs away. When the light bulb in my stairwell burned out I replaced it with the CFL bulb. The light was – to be kind – weird. At first the dogs would not go up the stairs. Second, despite all the hoopla about how the bulbs last long, mine burned out within a month. I took it out. The dogs quit being nervous. We all breathed easier. I went out and bought enough old style bulbs to last the rest of my life. What did I do with the burned out CFL bulb? I threw it in the trash.